Mr Sumberg said the figures from hospital trusts were both damning of Labour and deeply depressing.

“These statistics make an utter mockery of the Government's claims that hospital waiting lists are getting better,' he said. "The reality is that in areas like Manchester there has been huge increases in the numbers waiting for inpatient treatment. In South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust for example the number of inpatients on a waiting list has rocketed by a staggering 2453 people to 9071 people.”

Mr Sumberg said the figures prove Labour’s tax and waste policies are failing to improve the NHS.

“Labour is squeezing every penny out of hard working families in tax -  an extra £36 a week in tax for every man, woman and child in Britain, with crippling national insurance increases due to hit pockets in April– yet there is no improvement in public services. In fact as these figures show the NHS in some areas is actually getting worse.   Under Labour despite the NHS budget growing, from £42 billion in 1999 to £51.5 billion in the last financial year, 5000 people a year die from hospital inquired infections, patients wait longer to see their GP and there are 210,000 managers but fewer than 200,000 beds. Tony Blair’s bogus mantra: ‘24 hours to save the NHS’ sounds terribly empty now - especially to those in Manchester and Merseyside on inpatient waiting lists.”

The below figures set out the statistics in the following order:

1) Trust Name Inpatient Waiting List Size end of December 2000

2) Inpatient waiting list size end of December 2002

3) Inpatient waiting list size increase from December 2000 to December 2002

    South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust       6618     9071     2453

    Wirral Hospital NHS Trust                                            4262     5545     1283

    Cardiothoracic Centre Liverpool NHS Trust                 1451     2194     743

    Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust                                     2693     3353     660

    Liverpool Women's Hospital NHS Trust                       823       1456     633
    (Source: Department of Health form KH07)

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